Peter's Blog

The Story of Benjamin Strong: How Fatal Conceit Wrecks Economies

In an article we published last week, Peter Schmidt highlighted what he called the “fatal conceit” of modern Keynesian economics. These economists, central bankers and politicians think they can plan, direct and guide the economy through their great wisdom and application of their economic models. But as economist Friedrich Hayek explained, the central planners’ arrogance ignores […]

Gold Bulls and Fed Camels: SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap 09.28.18

The SchiffGold Friday Gold Wrap podcast combines a succinct summary of the week’s precious metals news coupled with thoughtful analysis. You can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Fun on Friday: Little Gold Nuggets for Your Ears

Are you an audiophile? Do you want your music to sound like gold? I’ve got just what you need. Gold earbuds. No. No. No. I don’t just mean gold colored earbuds. I mean earbuds covered in actual gold.

Most US States Drowning in Red Ink

The federal government isn’t alone drowning in debt. Most US states don’t have enough money to pay their bills either. That was the conclusion of the Truth in Accounting annual State of the States 2018 report. According to the report, American states have racked up $1.5 trillion dollars in unfunded state debt. Much of the red ink is […]

Which Fed Rate Hike Will Finally Break the Economy’s Back?

As expected, the Federal Reserve nudged interest rates up another 25 basis points Wednesday. The federal funds rate now stands at 2.25%. The Fed offered up a rosy outlook for the US economy, projecting growth will continue for the next three years. The central bank also dropped the phrase, “the stance of monetary policy remains accommodative” […]

As Economy Tanks, Indonesians Turn to Gold

The Indonesian stock market has plunged nearly 7% this year. The country’s currency, the rupiah, has fallen 9%, and is at its weakest level since the 1998 Asian financial crisis. Bond yield have soared. To weather the storm, Indonesians are buying gold. 

Peter Schiff: Divided Government Would Not Be Bullish for the Stock Market

In a recent podcast, Peter Schiff talked about the “Trump tariff put” – this idea that the president will be able to call off the trade war to rescue the market should it start to fall. Peter called that idea nonsense. It is the type of wishful thinking, the type of just ignoring all of […]

High Consumer Confidence Shouldn’t Make Us Confident

Apparently, the American consumer has bought into the notion that everything is great in the economy. Consumer confidence surged to an 18-year high this month and is close to the all-time record. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index jumped to 138.4, up from 134.7. Analysts expected a dip.

Paul Krugman, the Federal Reserves and the Fatal Conceit of Keynesian Economics

A recent Paul Krugman New York Times column praised the success of the Keynesian macro model in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. In his view, the Federal Reserve did exactly what was necessary  – pushed interest rates to zero and launched rounds of quantitative easing to jumpstart demand. As Tom Woods and Bob […]

EU Announces New Payment System to Circumvent US Economic Sanctions

The EU has announced it will create a special payment channel to circumvent US economic sanctions and facilitate trade with Iran. Last month, German foreign minister Heiko Maas called for the creation of a new payments system independent of the United States. The announcement Monday sets that plan in motion.